Dr. Keith Cole has been a faculty member of George Washington University Doctor of Physical Therapy Program since November of 2017 with the title of Assistant Professor. His primary teaching responsibilities include Clinical Conference II, Movement Science I, and Foundations of Examinations. He serves on the Admissions Committee and the Awards and Graduation Committee. Prior to joining GW, Dr. Cole practiced in the outpatient setting for nearly a decade, earning a board-certified orthopedic specialty (OCS).
Dr. Cole’s research overall research goal is to improve movement dysfunction and community participation for those with falls risk and following neuromuscular compromise. He does this through investigating different afferent systems’ contributions to movement accuracy. His current research looks at movement during a cognitive load (Dual-Tasking), vestibular dysfunction and exercise dosage, and lower extremity muscle neurophysiology. He has published several scholarly articles in top tier journals, and has presented at annual meetings of the American College of Sports Medicine and the Society for Neuroscience. Dr. Cole is a member of the Orthopedic, Neurologic, and Research Sections of the American Physical Therapy Association.
Grants
- 2019:
- Understand the Etiology of Fatigue and Fatigability in JDM using Cardiorespiratory Measures | Funded by: Cure JM Foundation
- University Seminar on Translational Science in Behavioral/Cognitive Disciplines | Funded by: GW University Seminar Series
- 2018: A Cross-Disciplinary Examination of a Novel Weight-Bearing Dual-Task Intervention in Older
Adults | Funded by: GW Cross Disciplinary Research Fund; GW Office of for the Vice President of Research - 2007: APTA Mary McMillan Student Scholarship Award
- 2006: Foundation Scholarship, The University of Iowa
- 2005: Foundation Scholarship, The University of Iowa
Programs
- Physical Therapy
- Cole KR, Yen CL, Lee J, Dudley-Javoroski J, Shields RK. NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery in Young and Older Adults: Reliability and Relationship to Adiposity and Physical Activity. Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy. Accepted 2019 Sep 25 [epub ahead of print].
- Cole KR and Shields R K, Age and Cognitive Stress Influences Motor Skill Acquisition, Consolidation, and Dual-Task Effect in Humans. J Mot Behav, 2019: p. 1-18.
- Cole KR, Dudley-Javoroski S, and Shields RK. Hybrid stimulation enhances torque as a function of muscle fusion in human paralyzed and non-paralyzed skeletal muscle. J Spinal Cord Med 1-9, 2018.
- Tseng SC¹, Cole KR¹, Shaffer MA, Petrie MA, Yen CL, Shields RK. Speed, resistance, and unexpected accelerations modulate feed forward and feedback control during a novel weight bearing task. Gait Posture. 2016;52:345-353. ¹The first and second authors contributed equally to the manuscript.
- Cole K, Kruger M, Bates D, Stei G, Zbreski. Physical demand levels in individuals completing a sports performance-based work conditioning/hardening program after lumbar fusion. Spine J. 2009; 9(1): 39-46.
- Shields RK, Dudley-Javoroski S, Cole KR. Feedback-controlled stimulation enhances human paralyzed muscle performance. J Appl Physiol. 2006;101(5):1312-1319.
- Shields RK, Madhavan S, Cole KR, et al. Proprioceptive coordination of movement sequences in humans. Clin Neurophysiol. 2005;116(1):87-92.
- Shields RK, Madhavan S, Cole K. Sustained muscle activity minimally influences dynamic position sense of the ankle. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2005;35(7):443-451.